Cha Thé Tea

When, Where and By whom was tea first discovered?

The first references to tea go back nearly 5,000 years and are understandably obscure.  Many countries have their own version of how tea was discovered, but the Chinese version is the oldest.  According to Chinese literature, Emperor Shen Nung, who was known, as the “Divine Healer” would routinely boil his drinking water before consuming it, a healthy practice even by today’s standards.  As the story goes, one day some leaves from a nearby tree fell into the pot, which resulted in an excellent tasting and fragrant beverage.  For the record, tea grows on bushes which are usually kept pruned to 3 feet but, left unattended in the wild, could easily grow to a tree of 30 or more feet high.  In this manner, according to legend, tea was discovered.

How many kinds of tea are there?

The three basic kinds of tea are Green, Oolong, and Black tea.  In the United States about 94% of the tea consumed is Black, Green accounts for about 5% and Oolong the remainder.  In the world, about 80% of the tea consumed is Black, about 19% Green with the remainder being Oolong.  There is a very rare tea which some experts consider to be a fourth type of tea; White tea.  White tea is a Chinese tea produced exclusively from the buds or tips of the tea bush.  The three basic forms of tea are determined by the degree of processing, which takes place of the identical tealeaves.  Green tea is the least processed and Black tea receives the most processing.  The only differences in the processing is that Black tea leaves are allowed to oxidize (exposed to air) before the leaf is dried.

Next to water, tea is the most popular berverage of the world.

In the United States, in addition to water, it trails soft drinks, coffee, beer, and milk which makes it the sixth most popular beverage.

Over 80% of the tea consumed within the United States is consumed as an iced beverage.

According to reports, iced tea was discovered accidentally by, of all people, a young Englishman ­ Richard Blechynden who had come all the way from Calcutta, India to represent teas from the Far East at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair.  Not meeting with much success in the stifling heat, Mr. Blechynden poured the tea over ice and met with a near instant success.

Who invented the Tea Bag?

In 1904, Thomas Sullivan an enterprising tea and coffee merchant in New York is credited with the accidental discovery of tea bags.  To control costs, he sent out samples of his tea to potential buyers in small silk sacks as opposed to the customary tin cans.  The recipients of the samples didn’t bother to remove the tea from the silk sacks and brewed up the tea in that form.  To Mr. Sullivan’s astonishment, orders began to pour in for tea in little bags!

Consumption of tea started at approximately the same time in the U.K. and The Continent of America.

Tea bags account for approximately 60% of the tea sold through supermarkets and food service outlets.  Surprisingly, the number is very similar in the U.K. where the perception of much greater reliance on loose tea is widespread.

The Irish consume more tea on a per capita basis than any other nationality.  The Irish consume 7.1 pounds of tea annually equivalent to 1,417 cups per year or nearly 4 per day.  By comparison, the British consume 5.74 pounds per person or 3.2 cups per day and in the U.S., .75 pounds equivalent to about _ cup per day.

For the most recent 12 month period approximately 66% of the tea consumed in the United States is imported from Argentina, China, and Indonesia.  All told, approximately 3 dozen countries have exported tea to the United States in 1995.

Although the term “fermentation” is frequently used to describe the processing of tea, the term “oxidation” is a much more accurate description of the chemical transformation which takes place.

Although tea can grow in a great many environments, the ideal is areas of heavy rainfall, very warm days and cool nights, which can often be found at higher elevations.

Contrary to popular perception, Orange Pekoe is not a flavoring at all it  simply connotes a certain size of tealeaf (usually the largest pieces of leaf available).  Over the years, through marketing efforts, the name has acquired an image associated with high quality.

Once again, contrary to popular opinion, the correct pronunciation is peck o, not peek o.

On the surface this appears to be a confusing answer but its meaning becomes crystal clear with a little bit of explanation.  On a dry weight basis tea has twice as much caffeine per pound as does coffee.  However, on an as consumed basis tea has between _ to 1/3 as much caffeine as a similar serving of coffee.  The reason for this is that a pound of tea yields about 200 servings while a pound of coffee yields (according to the National Coffee Association) between 40 and 50 servings.  According to FDA figures, published in March 1984 FDA Consumer, on average a 5 oz. cup of tea contains 40 milligrams of caffeine and a 5 oz. cup of coffee between 80 and 115 milligrams depending upon the method of brewing.

Most branded teas are blends of teas from many different tea gardens and several different countries.  This is done to make it easier to maintain a particular flavor profile that consumers of that particular brand have become accustomed to.  Most specialty teas, but not all, are unblended teas from a particular region of a specific tea producing country.  Some specialty teas, like fine wines, come from a particular tea garden known for certain flavor characteristics.

The price of tea is set as a result of auction bidding or direct negotiation between buyer and seller.  It is not formally traded in a commodity exchange.

Tea should not be placed in a refrigerator since the change in temperatures when the product is used could contribute to “sweating” which could lead to mold formation and deterioration of quality.  Similarly, tea should be allowed to breathe so that excess moisture may safely evaporate.  Shipping tea in airtight containers for short periods of time is an acceptable practice which serves to protect the fragile product from harmful outside contaminants.

Brewing Black or Oolong tea with water, which has just started to boil but not boiled too long is the ideal practice.  This ensures the optimal brewing temperature (212º F) without destroying the quality of the water through excessive loss of oxygen.  Green tea is an exception and should be brewed with water which has not come to a boil.  Ideally, this water should be between 165º F and 185º F.  A common practice is to take water which has been brought to a boil and set it aside for several minutes until it has cooled before brewing Green tea.

The tea leaves are a little hazy regarding the correct answer to this question, but answer ‘c” comes closest to being the most correct.  The Tea Association has prepared guidelines for commercially brewing hot and iced tea as well as for many other subjects.  Green tea requires special care and should be brewed with water which is not as hot as for Black tea and for much shorter periods of time.  Depending upon the type of tea being used, some trial and error may be in order.  Another excellent source of information on this subject is your specialty tea supplier.

Serving tea in a ceramic (like) teapot is the ideal way and adds considerably to the flavor development as well as the overall mood of the occasion.  Metal teapots are an acceptable alternative as is serving it pre-brewed out of an insulated container, particularly for large groups.  However, nothing compares to the statement, which is made when a ceramic (like) teapot is used.  The least desirable method of serving tea lukewarm water in a teacup with a bag on the side.

The obvious answer is to simply ask “Would you like more tea?”  There is perhaps no greater insult to a tea lover than to ask; “Would you like more hot water for your tea?”  Now there are exceptions to everything and some teas, especially Green tea, may be reused several times, but for general Black tea service, a new tea bag or loose tea should be offered to the customer.

It is extremely important to clean your iced tea brewing equipment on a daily basis to prevent a build up of bacteria.  Very specific guidelines have been established and are available from the Tea Association of the USA, the National Restaurant Association, your tea supplier, or from the equipment suppliers.  Cleaning recommendations included sanitizing all surfaces and complete dismantling of the dispensing mechanism.

Assam, Nilgiri, Dimbulla, and Uva are all regions of tea producing countries known for the high quality of their teas.  It is reported that there are more than 3,000 varieties of tea and that many tea experts are able to identify many of these teas by their appearance and taste.  For the rest of us would be connoisseurs, learning to distinguish between a great many fewer types will generally pose a lifetime challenge.

A great cup of tea totally satisfying to all of your tea lovers can be brewed using tea bags as opposed to loose tea.  Evidence of this may be seen in the number of imported teas in tea bag form being offered in the United States by foreign packers of tea known for their excellence.  Further evidence is found by the near universal usage of tea bags, even in countries that take their tea drinking very seriously.  That said, a cup of tea brewed from loose tea will likely have a superior taste than a cup of tea brewed from the same leaves in tea bag form.  The nuances will be small, but due to the fact that the larger loose leaf sizes will have more room to expand and give up all the flavor which they have to offer.  Loose tea also adds to the overall mood and “romance” of tea and could add immensely to customer satisfaction and retailer profits.

India is the largest producer of tea in the world producing 819,877 tons of tea in 1994.  China is next with 648,675 tons, followed by Sri Lanka with 268,482 tons and Japan with 95,133 tons.

Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of tea in the world shipping some 247,177 tons in 1994.  China is the next largest shipping 198,062 tons, followed by India with 159,557 tons and Japan with only 1,653 tons exported in 1994.  As might be expected, India, China, and Japan have well developed markets for tea within their own countries.

This was a bonus question since if you answered a, b, or c you would have been correct.  Tea is perhaps THE most profitable food or beverage item available to you within the food service sector.  Incredible gross profit potentials are the norm and are maximized by aggressive merchandising strategies.  Your supplier of tea and/or the Tea Association of the USA are good sources for merchandising tips.

Back to a technical question, both Green and Black tea contain similar amounts of caffeine.  This too is contrary to popular opinion, which generally holds that Green tea has less caffeine than Black tea.  Support for this conclusion lies in the fact that both types of tea are derived from exactly the same plant, Camellia sinensis and that the processing differences between the two types of tea have little to no effect on caffeine content.  Once again exceptions to this rule are possible if your brew your Green tea for very short periods of time, which is often recommended.  However, the raw tea itself has near identical caffeine levels.

New scientific evidence touting teas many contributions to human health are coming to our attention on an increasingly frequent basis.  While more research is needed to confirm the many claims, which are being made, tea consumption most certainly seems compatible with a growing number of consumers who are adopting healthy lifestyles.

Yes, there are several sources for additional information about tea including:
      Your supplier of branded and specialty tea.
      The Tea Boards of various producing countries.
      The Tea Association, Specialty Tea Institute and Tea Council of the USA.